Salem Computer Center owner Frank Zamarelli said his father, big Frank, taught him to leave his community a little better than he found it.

His unending practice of that advice, and the philanthropic practices of two other local groups, the Salem High School Alumni Association and the United High School cheerleaders, were recognized recently as outstanding.

The Mahoning-Shenango Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals honored them during the 2012 National Philanthropy Day awards luncheon last month, recognizing Zamarelli and the Salem Computer Center as Outstanding Small Business, the United cheerleading squad as Outstanding Young Philanthropist and SHSAA with Special Recognition for Valley Impact.

For the 2011-2012 United cheerleaders, their efforts focused on helping one individual, former cheerleader and 2008 United graduate Alissa Boyle, who was seriously injured coming to the aid of an accident victim on the side of a Pennsylvania highway. Their Cheers for Alissa campaign, though, not only resulted in much-needed financial assistance to cover some of Boyle's medical expenses, but also brought together the entire United community for a one-day fundraising event.

In the program bio about the cheerleaders, it was noted that "when young people are faced with a great need, it might be easy for them to say that the problem is too large and their resources are too limited to make a difference. But the cheerleading squad at United High School did not focus on the size of the problem. Rather, they focused on what they could do to find a solution."

"We're proud of them," United High School Principal Bill Young said.

He said much like Alissa's positive outlook about what she was facing, "Cheers for Alissa was a positive, uplifting way of letting her know the people in the community were there for her."

With help from cheerleading coaches Renee Congo and Stacey Zines, the cheerleaders put together activities other students would support and came up with a plan the whole community and people in other communities could support. The day-long Cheers for Alissa event included a silent auction, bake sale, face painting, corn hole tournament,, basketball throw, soccer kicking contest and manicures and pedicures provided by a local salon.

Young said they came up with a pretty novel idea and it was an honor for them to be recognized. He said their leadership is to be commended.

"Cheers for Alissa grew to involve the entire community, but it started with the energy and determination of the United cheerleading squad - a great example of young philanthropists," the program bio said.

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Groups honored for philanthropy

By MATT ERICKSON, The Lawrence Journal-World

Internal candidate Douglas Girod will take over the top job at the Kansas University Medical Center, KU announced Wednesday.

Girod currently the senior associate dean for clinical affairs at the KU School of Medicine, will become the Medical Centers new executive vice chancellor on Feb. 1.

A surgeon, Girod joined the faculty at KUMC in 1994. He is also the chairman of the medical schools Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery.

One of Girods first tasks after stepping in as the new KUMC leader is likely to be to begin a search for a dean of the School of Medicine.

Barbara Atkinson, who retired in June, had served as both medical-school dean and the executive vice chancellor for the campus. But KU Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little indicated a desire to split the jobs, and a search for a dean had already begun when Atkinson announced in April she would be leaving KU earlier than expected.

That search morphed into an effort to hire a new executive vice chancellor instead.

Girod and two external candidates medical leaders at the University of Washington and Louisiana State University were announced as finalists for the job in November.

The three finalists were selected by a search committee and took part in town hall meetings on the KUMC campus. After that, the hiring decision was in Gray-Littles hands.

Dr. Girod has been a steadfast leader during a time of profound transformation at the University of Kansas Medical Center, playing crucial roles over the last several years as we saw dynamic growth in all of our educational, clinical, research and community engagement missions, Gray-Little said in a release. He is enormously respected by his colleagues, his students, his fellow physicians and our community, and his vision will undoubtedly lead to more significant transformation in the years ahead.

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Internal candidate named new executive vice chancellor at KU Medical Center

American Red Cross Northeast Pennsylvania

Polly Patterson is the interim regional chapter executive following the departure of John Hughes, who has accepted a leadership role as regional executive of the American Red Cross, Heart of Carolina Region in Greensboro, N.C. Ms. Patterson is a 21-year Navy veteran, who served in the Navy's Civil Engineer Corps. She and her husband, Mike, have two grown children and live in Lewisburg.

The Commonwealth Medical College

Marise Garofalo has been named vice president for institutional advancement. In this position, Ms. Garofalo will have oversight for development, alumni relations and marketing communications. She will be directly responsible for planning and executing TCMC's development activities to create widespread and significant philanthropic support of the college's mission. Ms. Garofalo joins TCMC from the University of Scranton, where she was assistant vice president for development. Ms. Garofalo earned a Bachelor of Science degree in liberal studies summa cum laude from the University of Scranton.

First Citizens Community Bank

Mike Barrouk has joined the bank as a vice president and business development officer. As a BDO, Mr. Barrouk will lead First Citizens' efforts to provide commercial services to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton business community as a resource for financial planning, and by providing funding for their growth and expansion needs. He is a 2004 graduate of Leadership Wilkes-Barre. Mr. Barrouk earned his master's degree in business administration from Wilkes University, and is a 2010 inductee to the Wilkes University Sports Hall of Fame. He lives in Dallas with his wife, Jill, and their children, Sam, Nina and Nick.

Highlights Press

Dolores Motichka has been named to the new post of senior designer of Highlights Press at the Highlights for Children editorial offices in Honesdale. She began her career in 1977 at Highlights and then became a fashion illustrator for the Globe Store in Scranton, and later a textbook designer at the International Correspondence Schools in Scranton. She returned to Highlights in 1980 to work on the Zaner-Bloser spelling series. In 1983, she became a designer for the National Wildlife Federation, and from 1984 to 1995, she was a staff illustrator and features designer for The Washington Times newspaper in Washington, D.C. Ms. Motichka designed editorial products for U.S. News & World Report from 1995 until 2002. The Honesdale High School graduate holds an associate degree in fashion illustration from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. Ms. Motichka and her husband, John Kascht, a caricaturist, live in Honesdale.

Inn at Pocono Manor

Robert Baldassari has been appointed director of sales and marketing for the property. Mr. Baldassari was most recently director of sales and marketing for Skytop Lodge. Mr. Baldassari has held managerial positions at a number of properties in the Poconos, including Mount Airy Lodge. He is a graduate of the University of Bridgeport, in Connecticut, where he earned his bachelor's degree. He lives in Canadensis.

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People on the Move, Dec. 30, 2012

They slept in large rooms, a dozen beds to a row. They hitchhiked so they could stash back their dime bus fares to buy fried bologna sandwiches at a nearby bar they weren't allowed to enter. They snuck out to date or get their ears pierced, risking suspension or expulsion.

And they worked, long, long days sometimes 16-hour shifts at Knoxville General Hospital, caring for the sick, the wounded, the contagious, black and white, poor and prominent alike.

These are the memories of Jo Ella "Jody" Tipton McCall and Mary McCall McNamara, and hundreds of the other nurses who came from rural counties and even other states to attend the Knoxville General Hospital School of Nursing in Old North Knoxville.

McNamara's daughter, Billie McNamara, is determined that their memories be preserved through a recently launched effort.

McCall and Mary McNamara met and roomed together at the nursing school, which was in a large house adjacent to the hospital on Cleveland Place, near where Knox County Health Department now sits. Mary persuaded Jody to start writing her brother, an enlisted man serving in Korea, and by the time the women were full-fledged nurses, they were sisters-in-law as well.

These days, they're also president and vice president, respectively, of the nursing school's alumni association. For decades, the association has had an annual reunion for graduates of the school, their instructors and the doctors and other staff who worked at the hospital, which closed in August 1956 when what is now University of Tennessee Medical Center opened.

As their numbers dwindled, the annual reunion became a luncheon at St. James Episcopal Church. In June, about 45 attended.

It was about a month before the reunion that Mary McNamara had the idea for a program on the nursing school's history. She assigned her daughter, who has genealogy experience, to pull it together.

"She said, 'That should be easy; all our material is at UT,' " which supposedly took custody of the contents of the nursing school after it closed, Billie McNamara said. But when she called UT, "they didn't have anything" no photos, records or uniforms, nor the silver tea set used during the ceremony where nurses received their caps.

Photo by KNS Archive // Buy this photo

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'Virtual museum' pays tribute to graduates of Knoxville General Hospital School of Nursing